April 2, 2014

Baseball Broadcasters Impressions: Radio Rankings

Back in 2012 I gave you my baseball broadcaster impressions of all the local broadcasts. This year I'm doing my personal rankings. Basically the rankings go like this. I have MLB.tv and when I listen a game I have a choice between two broadcasts. Which one would I rather listen to? I can check this ranking, see one broadcast team is ranked higher than the other, and choose that one.

30. New York Yankees- John Sterling & Suzyn Waldman: Between Sterling's missed calls and sayings with Waldman's analysis this is by far the worst radio broadcast on the dial.
29. Cincinnati- Marty Brennaman & Jeff Brantley: Let's just say the condescending trait in Thom fell about an inch from his father's tree. Brantley ain't much better to listen to.
28. San Diego- Ted Leitner & Bob Scanlan: I can't describe how awful Leitner is. He speaks so fast you have no idea what he's saying. Just the sound of his voice makes my skin crawl.
27. Los Angeles Dodgers- Charley Steiner & Rick Monday: Steiner would be better if he had Bob Ley to play off of and to giggle at. He doesn't so this is a pretty lame broadcast.
26. Baltimore- Joe Angel & Fred Manfra: I used to like Angel but now I just find him boring. Manfra doesn't bring much to the table when he's on the call.
25. Colorado- Jack Corrigan & Jerry Schemmel: They bring nothing to the table except boredom.
24. Kansas City- Denny Matthews, Steve Stewart & Steve Physioc: Matthews is great when he's calling the game. The rest of the crew leave a lot to be desired.
23. Anaheim- Terry Smith & Jose Mota: They're not bad, they're not good. They're just there.
22. St. Louis- Mike Shannon & John Rooney: Drunk Mike Shannon is personally not all that fun to listen to. Slurring words and slow reactions to what happen on the field isn't enduring. It's a cry for help.
21. Miami- Dave Van Horne & Glenn Geffner: Van Horne has seen better days and Geffner is nothing special.
20. Boston- Dave O'Brien & Joe Castiglione: Would be higher but the unbearable O'Brien is now the lead announcer. Castiglione is still great though.
19. Detroit- Dan Dickerson & Jim Price: Dickerson is great but Price brings down the broadcast with stories about the 68 Tigers and his old school analysis.
18. Texas- Eric Nadal & Matt Hicks: I don't get Nadal's appeal but I can't rank this crew any lower.
17. Milwaukee- Bob Uecker & Joe Block: Uecker is honestly starting to get long in the tooth and Block isn't that entertaining to make this ranking any higher.
16. Pittsburgh- Tim Neverett or Greg Brown & Bob Walk or Steve Blass: Once again they all rotate between TV and radio so it's hard to properly rank them for both.
15. Chicago Cubs- Pat Hughes & Ron Coomer: Hughes is great and Coomer was great whenever he was on the Twins broadcast.
14. Seattle- Rick Rizzs & Aaron Goldsmith: Sorry RJBO but I like Rizzs. Goldsmith also brings sabermetrics to the broadcast.
13. Tampa Bay- Andy Freed & Dave Willis: Get high marks for their presentation and preparation for the broadcast.
12. Toronto- Jerry Howarth & Joe Siddall: Howarth's voice is like a warm summer breeze. Just refreshing.
11. Houston- Rob Ford & Steve Sparks: A new broadcast team that somehow makes terrible Astro games appealing to listen to.
10. Oakland- Ken Korach & Vince Controneo: Controneo brings sabermetrics and a new approach to the broadcasting that is refreshing. Korach isn't bad himself though he puts @RaiderUte to sleep.
9. Arizona- Greg Schulte & Tom Candiotti: Probably the most underrated booth in the game.
8. Minnesota- Cory Provus & Dan Gladden: Would be ranked higher if they didn't have Gladden calling 4 innings. Provus is great though.
7. Cleveland- Tom Hamilton & Jim Rosenhaus: I like Hamilton. Sue me.
6. Philadelphia- Scott Franzke & Larry Andersen: Franzke has done a great job replacing Harry Kalas. Andersen is fun to listen to for his stories on his playing days.
5. Atlanta- Jim Powell & Don Sutton: Powell is great and brings analysis to the game. Sutton is still very good at analysing the game.
4. Washington- Charlie Slowes & Dave Jageler: Great duo who are a fun listen. Amazing how good they are compared to the TV broadcast.
3. New York Mets- Howie Rose & Josh Lewin: Poor Rose has to call both crappy Islanders and Mets games. Shame to waste a talent like that.
2. Chicago White Sox- Ed Farmer & Darrin Jackson: I love these two because of their goofy interactions with each other during the game. You're not getting hard hitting analysis but you're getting a few laughs.
1. San Francisco- Jon Miller & Dave Flemming: Miller's stories and Flemming bringing sabermetrics to the booth. I'd listen to them read the phonebook.

3 comments:

  1. Rob Ford's beatdown of that Bruce Jenkins column on broadcasters using sabermetrics in the booth made me a fan. And you know what? Steve Sparks is quite good too despite being a former player who I normally hate in the radio booth including Kuiper.

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  2. I'm not sure if you left the A's off on purpose or not, but it still doesn't change the fact that I still find Ken Korach to be incredibly boring. If I need a nap after church on Sunday, Korach calling a game puts me into a very nice slumber.

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    Replies
    1. HOLY SHIT I DIDN'T EVEN REALIZE I LEFT THE A'S OFF THE LIST! Controneo is really good so I'd still have them in the top 15.

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